Fake News In Russia: 'Obama Threatens Sanctions Due To Russia's Role In Syria'

Russian reset button has been broke in Washington for the past two years. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

President Barack Obama may take another swipe at Russia before leaving office, adding fuel to the smoldering wreckage of Washington-Moscow relations. So says Russian news. Is it real? Is it fake? Or is this just lost in translation?

RIA Novosti newswire reported on Wednesday that White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that new sanctions against Russia because of the situation in Syria are possible. "There are a number of things that are to be considered, including some of the financial sanctions that the United States can administer in coordination with our allies. I would definitely not rule that out." This is not the first time that RIA Novosti, now known as Sputnik International, has put out stories of Earnest warning of sanctions. The most recent one came on Oct. 6.

With regard to what will happen to anti-Assad forces if they do not leave Aleppo.

What I can say about this is that we know that it has been the strategy of the Syrian government, backed by the Russians and the Iranians, to bomb innocent civilians into submission. And the focal point of much of that bombing campaign has been eastern Aleppo. It’s a bloody tactic. It’s disgraceful... But there hasn’t been a willingness on the part of either the Syrians, the Russians or the Iranians to engage in that process particularly constructively, and at least in a way that would yield a sustainable outcome. Hopefully, that will change. Hopefully, there’s more progress that we can make. And hopefully the Russians will show some renewed interest in this. And we would welcome that change. But far too many lives have been lost and, yes, it’s true that even more are at risk because of the deplorable tactics that are used regularly by the Syrians with the support of the Russians and Iranians."

...It is a reflection of the willingness of the Russian government and the Iranians to risk deepening involvement in a quagmire to accomplish a goal of trying to shore up their influence in the region. And it raises profound moral concerns. It also serves to isolate Syria, Russia and Iran from basically the rest of the world, who’s deeply concerned with the violence that they see continuing to be perpetuated in that war-torn country."

With regards to Washington's actions against Russia because of Syria.

The U.S. efforts underway right now are diplomatic in nature. And we have said from the beginning of this conflict that a military solution is not available. The only available solution is a diplomatic one. And for a time, the United States, through the historic and tenacious efforts of Secretary of State Kerry, were focused on trying to reach a bilateral negotiated agreement with the Russians. But again, despite his tenacious efforts, that kind of solution was not to be found. But Secretary of State Kerry has remained undeterred and has continued to pursue a multilateral negotiated agreement to try to bring the violence to an end, or at least reduce the violence and not allow so many innocent Syrians to be in harm's way of a bloody bombing campaign."

On Tuesday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said talks between Russia and the U.S. on Syria are on going but did not mention sanctions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed doubts yet again in the local press regarding the success of the negotiations, since the United States continues to support anti-Assad forces that remain enmeshed with jihadis in war torn cities like Aleppo.

Authorities in Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the UK have also declared their readiness to impose sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad's allies. In other words: Russia and Iran.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to do what Obama promised in his first year in office, restore relations with Moscow. U.S. relations with Russia cooled around 2013 when staunch anti-Russia Republicans like John McCain helped pass the so-called Magnitsky Act. The act led to sanctions against dozens of individual Russians, including elected officials, banning them from traveling to the U.S. or having assets in American owned banks. The act was named after a Russian lawyer named Sergei Magnitsky who died in a Russian prison. He was the auditor for American-run hedge fund Hermitage Capital, owned by investor Bill Browder who now resides in London. The Magnitsky Act led to retaliatory sanctions, with Russia banning travel of American politicians it deemed "war criminals" for their Iraq War policies based on the dubious claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

Russia and the U.S. relations cooled further when Moscow annexed Crimea, a formerly autonomous region in Ukraine located on the Black Sea and home to Russia's only warm water Naval port. Washington sanctioned Russian finance and energy companies in the summer of 2014. Sanctions have remained in place ever since.

-- Remember this? In October of 2009, Obama's first term, he said that Russia and the U.S. must come together. "I have called for a reset of relations between the United States and Russia...it must be a sustained effort to identify mutual interests."

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